Darkroom experiences: I am in the process of setting up a darkroom for developing and printing B&W film. I am writing to see if anyone has any words of wisdom or helpful experience...

repsychler Loc: Honolulu

I am in the process of setting up a darkroom for developing and printing B&W film. I am writing to see if anyone has any words of wisdom or helpful experience that they would like to share.
I am currently concerned about the importance (or lack thereof) of adequate ventilation and/ or maintaining the temperature and/or humidity of the darkroom, especially when it is not in use.
I’m waiting on Amazon to send a concrete nailer, so my project is on pause.

Ollieboy

Since Covid is over you may want to use your old masks.🤔

srt101fan

repsychler wrote:

I am in the process of setting up a darkroom for developing and printing B&W film. I am writing to see if anyone has any words of wisdom or helpful experience that they would like to share.
I am currently concerned about the importance (or lack thereof) of adequate ventilation and/ or maintaining the temperature and/or humidity of the darkroom, especially when it is not in use.
I’m waiting on Amazon to send a concrete nailer, so my project is on pause.

Ventilation is a top priority! If there is no exhaust fan in the room where you are setting up your darkroom, then you need to install one.....

repsychler Loc: Honolulu

Ollieboy wrote:

Since Covid is over you may want to use your old masks.🤔

Sounds like someone skipped their morning meds…

repsychler Loc: Honolulu

srt101fan wrote:

Ventilation is a top priority! If there is no exhaust fan in the room where you are setting up your darkroom, then you need to install one.....

Awesome, thanks a million- some books emphasize it and some seem to minimize the importance of ventilation.

srt101fan

Ollieboy wrote:

Since Covid is over you may want to use your old masks.🤔

I hope you're not implying that the Covid masks are useful in the darkroom?...

JD750 Loc: SoCal

repsychler wrote:

I am in the process of setting up a darkroom for developing and printing B&W film. I am writing to see if anyone has any words of wisdom or helpful experience that they would like to share.
I am currently concerned about the importance (or lack thereof) of adequate ventilation and/ or maintaining the temperature and/or humidity of the darkroom, especially when it is not in use.
I’m waiting on Amazon to send a concrete nailer, so my project is on pause.

Send a PM to rmalarz he can help you. He also lives in Az.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

You're on the right track with temperature/humidity control. Fujitsu makes some very nice room air conditioning units. That should provide adequate ventilation along with air conditioning. Additionally, allow more space than you think you'll need. Set up your darkroom to have a wet side and a dry side. That will keep things from getting messy.
--Bob

repsychler wrote:

I am in the process of setting up a darkroom for developing and printing B&W film. I am writing to see if anyone has any words of wisdom or helpful experience that they would like to share.
I am currently concerned about the importance (or lack thereof) of adequate ventilation and/ or maintaining the temperature and/or humidity of the darkroom, especially when it is not in use.
I’m waiting on Amazon to send a concrete nailer, so my project is on pause.

repsychler Loc: Honolulu

rmalarz wrote:

You're on the right track with temperature/humidity control. Fujitsu makes some very nice room air conditioning units. That should provide adequate ventilation along with air conditioning. Additionally, allow more space than you think you'll need. Set up your darkroom to have a wet side and a dry side. That will keep things from getting messy.
--Bob

Thank you! I have a small a/c unit and about 110 sq ft. I live on Oahu, so I only need to bring the temp down less than 20 degrees on the hottest days- plus Im setting up in our basement, so that helps also.

repsychler Loc: Honolulu

Thanks for the assist!

JD750 Loc: SoCal

repsychler wrote:

Thank you! I have a small a/c unit and about 110 sq ft. I live on Oahu, so I only need to bring the temp down less than 20 degrees on the hottest days- plus Im setting up in our basement, so that helps also.

OH You said "I'm waiting on Amazon" not Arizona. I need new glasses.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

repsychler, that should do nicely. Fortunately, Oahu, my home island, isn't like working in hell, like Phoenix. The only additional thing I'd be concerned about is humidity. The location, Oahu, and being in the basement might lead to a problem with moisture, an enemy of anything photographic. I have no idea how large a print you are intending to make. I'd set up enough room for 16x20 trays, regardless. It's always good to try to see the future.
--Bob

repsychler wrote:

Thank you! I have a small a/c unit and about 110 sq ft. I live on Oahu, so I only need to bring the temp down less than 20 degrees on the hottest days- plus Im setting up in our basement, so that helps also.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

repsychler wrote:

I am in the process of setting up a darkroom for developing and printing B&W film. I am writing to see if anyone has any words of wisdom or helpful experience that they would like to share.
I am currently concerned about the importance (or lack thereof) of adequate ventilation

Good! The history of home and small darkrooms is a history of self-poisoning. The original daguerreotype that got the whole business started was developed by holding the exposed plate over a tin of heated mercury.

If you're really interested in the subject: https://www.amazon.com/Overexposure-Hazards-Photography-Monona-Rossol/dp/0960711864

Be safe!

repsychler wrote:

and/ or maintaining the temperature and/or humidity of the darkroom, especially when it is not in use.
I’m waiting on Amazon to send a concrete nailer, so my project is on pause.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

I built a darkroom in the '70s using a Kodak book as a guide. It emphasized dust free ventilation. To do that, you "pressurize" the room. I built a box with a fan that blew air through a high quality furnace filter into the room. To create a flow, I used a a couple of drier vents to outside the house. The vent tubing included elbows that were painted flat black inside to prevent light leaks.

I miss my darkroom but am really happy to not be breathing the fumes and soaking my hands in the chemicals.

I'll take Lightroom any day. I've scanned some favorites, drug them through Lightroom and printed them on a Canon Pro-100. There is a noticeable quality improvement with the new prints compared to the old prints.

srt101fan

repsychler wrote:

No, I’m implying that your tangentiality is evidence of a treatable thought disorder.

I think you got me mixed up with Ollieboy!? 🤔